Touring Cars 2020 Touring Car discussion (TCR, BTCC etc.)

@TheCracker He was taking a sabbatical if I remember correctly, caused by a Primary sponsor pulling out after 2018, leaving him and HMS without a big chunk of funding for 2019. Eventually had to sell the TBL for 2020 after Nic Hamilton had to pull out for sponsorship reasons late last year too (the TBL was loaned to allow Nic to race). Though the Alfa was still developed last year, Austin took part in the tyre test at Snett last year, so the cars still ready to go, hopefully Rob and the team kind find another backer to race full time in the BTCC again.

 

Special commemorative livery for Halfords Yuasa Racing...



...and a new 5-year broadcasting deal with ITV.

 

Cammish on pole for Thruxton ahead of Ingram and Neal. Butcher in P6, Turks in P8, Sutton in P11.

 

And for the returnees this weekend, Onslow-Cole will line up P24, and Austin will start a very respectable P16.

 

Ingram brings home the win in Race 1 from Cammish. Turks suffered a misfire dropping him out of the points with Sutton in P5. Austin comes in P12.

 

Two wins from two for Ingram, despite late pressure from Cammish once again. Toyota Gazoo Racing's PR department will surely be having a field day today...

 

And to add to that, Austin managed to hold onto 12th keeping a charging Turkington at bay who finished 13th. Despite Hill getting past on the last lap, puts rob in prime reverse grid draw position (maximum shuffle anyone?).

 

Josh Cook (8th) receives reverse-grid pole. All-BTC Racing front row as teammate Tom Chilton lines up alongside him...


...and for once, it all works out!



Sutton heads for Silverstone 16 points clear of Turkington in the drivers' standings, with Ingram jumping up to 3rd following his earlier double victory.

 

Andy Neate (Most famous for being the pay driver who doesn't pay) has been excluded from today's races for being a bit of a bellend:

https://www.touringcartimes.com/2020/09/21/andy-neate-excluded-thruxton-race-meeting/

 

In a copy of last weeks quali, Cammish takes pole with a lap good enough to break Platos lap record from last year with the biggest margin of the year, at 0.198s from Ingram in P2, with Butcher rounding out the top 3 in the Focus.

I'm not one to judge a driver, but It really does surprise me how Neate is picked up by a team year on year, given his history and general attitude on track. Can only assume he has a very big checkbook, and an unreliable one at that.

 

TCR Europe Monza Race 2 live stream:



First race yesterday was rather messy in places; by contrast, today's BTCC opener is shaping up to be another cracking duel between Cammish and Ingram (so far).

 

Cammish takes Race 1 ahead of Ingram in retaliation for Thruxton. Turks and Sutton finish P4 and P5. Jade Edwards finishes P23 after being bundled out of a potential top 20.

 

And bundled out by everyones favourite bulldozer too... Otherwise a solid first race for Edwards, and loses that ballast for race 2.

 

Have to say that Edwards was doing well on 45kg ballast until Neate tapped her wide. Would have thought Neate would have been more careful after what happened at Thruxton, but we'll see what the stewards say. Fine drives from Cammish and Ingram.

Meanwhile at Monza, Pepe Oriola takes victory in TCR Europe Race 2 after an incredibly close battle with Julien Briché.

 

Some of the drivers at the back seem to have zero spatial awareness, I'm not sure I would trust them on a public road let alone a race track.

Edit: That was big for Butcher, good thing is Motorbase have a spare car they just need to get Neate out of it.

 

Yeah, that was a scary hit for Butcher. It seems that he and the marshal in the flag post he hit are fine. Big barrier damage, but it seems they've been able to do enough of a job to fix the barrier and get the race restarted.

 

Scary incident for the marshal on the post, jumping out just before it was turned through 90 degrees.

Good to see Jade Edwards sticking it to Andy Neate

 

That was a huge hit for Butcher, scary stuff when he and Neal came back across the track. Butcher has been confirmed to be ok, and the Marshall from the Marshall post has gone for a precautionary checkup.

Given Neates antics this weekend yet again, it wouldn't surprise me if that car gets freed up spare sooner rather than later. You would think he's learned from his exclusion at Thruxton, but clearly not. Another exclusion or maybe even race ban may be on the cards, probably safer for everyone else really.

 

Scary impact for Butcher, but glad that he and the marshall seem to be okay.

Also have to feel sorry for Ingram after what was another strong run in Race 1. My heart sank when he received the puncture in Race 2 and that punt off before the restart will not do his championship chances any favours.

Currently, it's Jackson leading from Oliphant, Cook, Morgan and Cammish (and Sutton)!

 

Jackson just hangs on from a charging Sutton to win Race 3. Turks falls back to P10, flipping the championship again.

That is the kind of no nonsense gloves off racing that makes BTCC the most exciting series in the world

 

After the restart, that was a phenomenal race, with some the best racing you could witness that epitomises how competitive and fun to watch the BTCC is . What a drive by Sutton as well, flipping the championship around for the 2nd time in one day, and a great 1st time win for Jackson. A very solid day from Jade Edwards too, thrown in at the deep end and performed very well in all fairness. Unfortunate she retired from race 3, wonder if that was because of damage caused by you-know-who .

Caps off a great day of racing, just got IMSA Sports Cars later today to finish it off.

 

Crazy, crazy stuff on the restart. A lot of close battles up and down the field (though the same can be said for the other two races as well), but hats off to Jackson for soaking up the pressure and fighting Oliphant off for a deserved maiden win. An imperious recovery from Sutton after the puncture he received earlier on.

Also good to see Edwards running as high as 18th before disappearing off the timing tower. Hope she uses this experience to gain even more ground the next time she joins the grid.

 

Sutton demoted to 3rd in R3 after being deemed gaining an unfair advantage against Oliphant.

 

I mean, it was a pretty blatant "Leaving the track and gaining an advantage" so seems pretty slam dunk.

 

So that's three choices for Hyundai TCR customers.

 

With Tom Onslow-Cole unavailable to make Croft following pre-race testing for the Spa 24 Hours, Mike Bushell is back to resolve unfinished business with Team HARD:



A bit late mentioning this, I know, but 2017 Ginetta GT4 Am champion and 2019 Radical Challenge front-runner Jac Constable also takes over the Power Maxed Astra this weekend:



UPDATE: More driver changes at GKR TradePriceCars.com - James Gornall stands down, with 4-time Clio Cup champion Paul Rivett set to take his place for the final two rounds.

 

Late to the party, but I see they weren't made to hold up the 110 batteries, those things are heavy sods...